Considering both the contrasting positions of the West and the East, as well as the increasingly complicated relationship between the US and China, which presents itself as an exponent of the emerging, multipolar or post-American world, this article aims to infer the meanings currently attributed to the concept of peaceful coexistence applied in China's foreign policy, how it has evolved, from the Sino-soviet dispute to present, and to what extend does this concept characterize China's policy towards Africa and the emerging states in general. The first part of the paper focuses on the Sino-Soviet dispute and the differences in the meanings attributed to the concept of peaceful coexistence, which, although foreign to the Western literature of international relations, still seems to constitute the central theme of the Chinese Communist Party, being present in most of the speeches and documents of foreign policy issued by the Chinese government. Moreover, I will analyze the extent to which China's involvement and relationship with the African states - and the other BRICS states - reflects the principles of the concept of peaceful coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]